Loyalty Lessons from The Recent Canadian Election

As you may or may not know, I’m a Canadian. I live in Ontario, just south of Detroit.

What you do likely know is that has we just had a major Federal Election that has resulted in a total shift of Government power in Canada.

There’s an incredibly powerful business lesson to be learned from this election, and it’s one which could skyrocket your revenue and growth trajectory

Let’s start with an important question.

How did the “underdog” come from behind to take total power away from the dominant force?

It’s easy to suggest that Trudeau ran a flawless campaign and ran on an incredible platform that propelled him to victory, but that’s not exactly what happened.

The single most important reason Trudeau won was that so many voters were in an “Anybody but Harper” mindset.

Anybody.

Trudeau and his team recognized this early, and they pounced on it. They harnessed the power of social media and recognized sites like ‘votetogether.ca’ that strategically brought together those sharing the same viewpoint.

Anybody but Harper.

This had less to do with them liking Trudeau’s platform, and more to do with them hating the persona of Harper and what he stood for.

The concept of us versus them is a powerful principle.

“Us vs. Them” can overwhelm ideals, logic, and planning when it’s done well, and the Liberal campaign did it very, very well

Let’s apply the learning to our companies.

If you’re the scrappy, yet successful, underdog of your industry, you already have an ‘Us vs. Them’ story by default. You may not have created it or even recognized it, but you can harness the power.

Apple recognized the power of ‘Us Vs. Them‘ from their very early days.

If you’re the biggest player in your industry, then be aware that you’re going to be ‘Them’ to a lot of your competitors, and a lot of your potential customers.

This is all the more reason to stay connected to your base of current and prospective customers

When you lose focus and play dirty, it becomes a lot easier for the small guy to play the “do you really want to give your money to those jerks?” card.

Just remember – you can’t coast on being the underdog forever…

It can get you attention/votes/dollars, but you eventually have to earn them on your own merits.

But it’s hard to think of a better accelerant than being the ‘Us’ in an “Us vs. Them” story.

Justin’s hard work starts now.

Today’s key questions:

Are you “Us” or are you “Them?”

The last thing you want your prospects saying is “Anybody but Harper.” (replace Harper with your company’s name)

Whether you’re ‘Us’ or ‘Them,’ the next question is the same:

How are you going to communicate with your audience in a way that that makes sure that you’re seen as ‘Us’ next year at this time?